Statins use and risk of sarcopenia in community dwelling older adults

Abstract

Current guidelines recommend statin use for cardiovascular risk management in adults as well as older people but in many situations these recommendations feature individualized drug management decisions. Statin induced myalgia and muscular toxicity syndrome are gaining more and more attention especially in older patients with sarcopenia. In this case-control study we investigated the association between long term statin use and risk of sarcopenia. A total number of 368 patients with a mean age of 76.43 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the study. Statin treatment significantly increased the odds of patients’ being at high risk for sarcopenia by a factor of 2.62 (OR = 2.62, 95%CI: 1.53-4.46; p < 0.001). The enhanced risk of sarcopenia was associated with lipophilic statins use and positively correlated with the dosage. When correlating the education level, area of residence, income and living arrangements, statin administration remained significantly associated with a high risk for sarcopenia.